Posted on 08/20/2015 1:07:19 PM PDT by Red Badger
One bad landing and poof.
Why, it’s as easy as landing on a barge...
I’d imagine the wind will be a problem.....................
I once watched video of a 180 ft water storage tank falling over - it was impressive, and caused a lot of damage to the surrounding area.
It’s hard to imagine the catastrophic effects of a +/- 64,000 ft tall tower toppling over.
“Why, it’s as easy as landing on a barge...”
...or an aircraft carrier.
Meaning that it’s not easy but it’s not impossible, either.
And, perhaps, earthquakes...
Twelve miles, deck crew would have to be on oxygen and
pressurized suits?
Twice as high as Everest...
Too many problems.
I think they’ve been hitting the thoth.
What happens if you get stuck halfway up? You’ll need a parachute and O2 bottle........................
Dr. Octopus once threw Spider-Man against a water storage tank on top of the Daily Bugle building, and the water drenched J. Jonah Jameson.
“As GCR (Global Construction Review) News described it, this is a freestanding space tower concept, held rigid by pressurized gas.”
That’s a pretty novel idea for a space elevator. The main problem for space elevators is that their sheer weight makes it impossible for them to maintain structural integrity. However, if you made the tower like a dirigible, filled with gas that is lighter than air, then you could use buoyancy to offset the weight, at least enough to make the structure viable.
However, it would require a whole heck of a lot of lighter-than-air gas. I just calculated, for a 20km tower with a 10,000 sq m footprint, you would need 16,400,000 kg of hydrogen to fill it (helium would be safer, but would weigh and cost a lot more). Though, my calculation didn’t account for variance in density of the gas as you get higher in the atmosphere, and you could use less gas to just achieve neutral buoyancy, while filling the rest of the structure with air to keep it rigid.
Using a perfect circle 7,925 miles in diameter, a 12 mile long line rising normal to the surface of the circle would be visible from over 300 miles away.
Obviously the earth’s surface has mountains, valleys and other terrain imperfections which would affect that distance in the real world, but such a “space elevator” would be visible from a VERY long way away on a clear day.
And that is definitely going to f-— up SOME selfish liberals’ “view shed”.
Somewhere, a Moslem terrorist has printed out this picture and drawn a bullseye on it.
An aircraft carrier is moving at roughly 40MPH at sea level into the wind. The landing and take off speeds increase with altitude.
I am also curious as to how it is kept stable. The Sears Tower for example the Willis(Sears) Tower sways about 3 feet and it is a fairly rigid structure. This elevator is about 40 times as high and is inflatable.
“The landing and take off speeds increase with altitude.”
True, and with the thinner atmosphere, you have to rely less on lift and more on pure thrust to gain altitude. At least that is what I’ve learned from playing Kerbal Space Program :)
“Too many problems.”
Actually, those problems are miniscule compared to the problems with launching stuff into space the conventional way. That’s why the concept is so attractive, even with all the problems attached.
With a traditional structure, yeah, that would be disastrous, but if the structure is basically a bag filled with gas, with some struts to keep it rigid? If it’s going to fall, it will rupture on the way down, the gas will escape, and only a fraction of it will actually hit the ground. I’m sure it would still be a disaster, but not nearly as bad as a 12 mile high traditional structure collapsing.
Spider-Man #12 (May 1964) — “Unmasked by Dr. Octopus!”
J. Jonah is watching the battle from his office window, when Dr. Octopus throws Spider-Man into a water tower, releasing a barrage of water that soaks J. Jonah.
Mr. Jameson says, “Blast him! That’s the real Spider-Man, all right!! Parker would never have had the nerve to soak me that way!”
(Earlier in the story, Dr. Octopus had defeated and unmasked Spider-Man, who had been weakened by a 24-hour virus, but because Spider-Man had fought so feebly, everyone assumed Peter Parker was only imitating Spider-Man to try to save Betty Brant.)
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